Why Corporate Virtue Matters to Workers

By

Leslie Kwoh

Dec 5, 2012 2:00 pm ET

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Workers said they would accept lower pay from an employer with ‘sustainable’ practices, a study found.

Workers say they want a clear corporate conscience—so much so that they’d take a pay cut to work at a company that makes socially responsible choices like promoting employee safety and preventing child labor, according to a new Bain & Co. study of nearly 750 workers.

Presented with competing hypothetical job offers, two-thirds of workers said they would accept a lower salary from an employer with “sustainable” business practices, which can range from providing employees with a good working environment to reducing pollution emitted by company plants, according to a global study set for release this week.

The findings suggest that companies that emphasize resource management and social stewardship–while also turning a profit—will be in greater demand among job-seekers in the coming years, with two-thirds of respondents saying that they care more about sustainability now than they did three years ago.

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